A social platform is an app where people publish and follow each other, and this poster lists every major one from SixDegrees (1997) to Threads (2023) in launch order. SixDegrees to Threads, 1997 to 2023. Who launched what, who copied whom, and what each one changed for creators.
ON TREND / OFF SCRIPT
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Video coming soonUntil then, each chapter below jumps to its era.
THE PROFILE ERA
· 1997 – 2004
SixDegrees
SixDegrees · 1997
SixDegrees · 1997. The first profiles and friend lists. Sold for $125M in 1999, switched off on 30 Dec 2000.PEOPLE
Friendster LinkedIn
BUILD
Friendster · 2002–03
Friendster · 2002–03. Proved the idea scaled, then stalled on slow, overloaded servers.
LinkedIn · 5 May 2003
LinkedIn · 5 May 2003. The one network built around work from day one.
MySpace
MySpace · Aug 2003
MySpace · Aug 2003. Custom pages, music and a friend in every profile: Tom.PROFILES
Facebook
FOR
Facebook · 4 Feb 2004
Facebook · 4 Feb 2004. TheFacebook launched at Harvard. You needed a college email address to join.FREE
VIDEO, TWEETS & FILTERS
· 2005 – 2012
YouTube
YouTube · 14 Feb 2005
YouTube · 14 Feb 2005. First upload “Me at the zoo”, 23 Apr 2005. Google bought it for $1.65B in Oct 2006.ANYONE
Twitter Instagram
CAN
Twitter · Mar / Jul 2006
Twitter · Mar / Jul 2006. First tweet 21 March 2006, public launch 15 July 2006.
Instagram · 6 Oct 2010
Instagram · 6 Oct 2010. iPhone only, square photos, filters. It started as a check-in app called Burbn.
Snapchat Facebook buys Instagram
Snapchat
Snapchat · Sep 2011
Snapchat · Sep 2011. Launched as Picaboo in July 2011, renamed that September. Its disappearing stories get copied everywhere.POST
Facebook buys Instagram · 9 Apr 2012
Facebook buys Instagram · 9 Apr 2012. About $1B for an app with 13 staff and no revenue.
SHORT FORM TAKES OVER
· 2013 – 2020
Vine Musical.ly
Vine · 24 Jan 2013
Vine · 24 Jan 2013. Six-second loops. Twitter announced the shutdown in Oct 2016.
Musical.ly · 2014
Musical.ly · 2014. The lip-sync app. ByteDance bought it in 2017 and merged it into TikTok in Aug 2018.SHORT
Instagram Stories Douyin 2016
CLIPS
Instagram Stories · 2 Aug 2016
Instagram Stories · 2 Aug 2016. A straight copy of Snapchat's format, and Systrom credited Snapchat at launch.
Douyin 2016 · TikTok 2017
Douyin 2016 · TikTok 2017. Douyin launched in China on 20 Sep 2016; TikTok took it worldwide in 2017.
Jio
Jio · 5 Sep 2016
Jio · 5 Sep 2016. Cheap mobile data. Hundreds of millions of Indians came online after it.EAT THE
Reels YouTube Shorts
Reels · Jul–Aug 2020
Reels · Jul–Aug 2020. In India from 8 July 2020, nine days after the TikTok ban; worldwide on 5 August.
YouTube Shorts · Sep 2020
YouTube Shorts · Sep 2020. Beta launched in India first (14 Sep 2020), then the US in March 2021.FEED
EVERYONE COPIES EVERYONE
· 2021 – 2023
Meta
Meta · 28 Oct 2021
Meta · 28 Oct 2021. Facebook the company renames itself; the app keeps the old name.COPY
X Threads
CAT
X · 2022–23
X · 2022–23. Musk bought Twitter for $44B on 27 Oct 2022 and renamed it X in July 2023.
Threads · 5 Jul 2023
Threads · 5 Jul 2023. 100 million sign-ups in five days, faster than any app before it.
THE PATTERN
· 26 years
01
Nothing starts as what it becomes
Facebook was a college directory. Instagram was a check-in app. TikTok absorbed a lip-sync app.
02
The copy with distribution often wins
Instagram Stories passed Snapchat's daily users within about a year. Reels vs TikTok and Threads vs X are still open.
03
Reach keeps moving to the feed
Each era made a follower worth a little less, which is why we price creators on recent views rather than follower counts. Our read.
FAQ & QUIZ · 1
When did SixDegrees switch off?
tap to flip ↻
answer
30 December 2000, a year after a $125M sale.
FAQ & QUIZ · 2
What did you need to join TheFacebook in 2004?
tap to flip ↻
answer
A college email address.
FAQ & QUIZ · 3
Which app did TikTok absorb in 2018?
tap to flip ↻
answer
Musical.ly.
FAQ & QUIZ · 4
How fast did Threads reach 100M sign-ups?
tap to flip ↻
answer
In five days.
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Dates checked 18 September 2026 against company announcements and Wikipedia's sourced timelines. Corrections to the draft: SixDegrees was sold for $125M in 1999 and closed on 30 December 2000; Friendster's launch is given as both 2002 and 2003; Facebook needed a college email, not an invite; Twitter's first tweet was 21 March 2006 and it opened publicly on 15 July 2006; Douyin launched in China on 20 September 2016 and TikTok internationally in 2017; the lip-sync app was Musical.ly; Reels reached India on 8 July 2020. Snapchat has no freely licensed logo, so its tile is text. The Facebook wordmark shown is the 2005–2015 version and Instagram's is its launch-era wordmark. All logos are trademarks of their owners, shown for identification only (Wikimedia Commons, public domain as simple marks; TikTok icon CC0 redraw). The pattern notes are our reading, not a study.
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Friendster · 2002–03
LinkedIn · 5 May 2003
Facebook · 4 Feb 2004
Twitter · Mar / Jul 2006
Instagram · 6 Oct 2010
Instagram Stories · 2 Aug 2016
Douyin 2016 · TikTok 2017
X · 2022–23
Threads · 5 Jul 2023